Star 2022-09-30

INTERNATIONAL consultancy group, Bain & Co said yesterday it has had its seminal moment and regrets being implicated in malpractice after Treasury announced its suspension on public sector work for 10 years. Bain & Co said it was considering its options in response to this decision. Treasury in a statement yesterday said the restriction effective from September 5, 2022, until September 4, 2032 – for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices related to a South African Revenue Services (Sars) contract – had been published on the Treasury website and database for restricted suppliers. The restriction would apply to any other contract for services awarded to Bain & Co in the public sector. Treasury said it was, in collaboration with Sars, “in the process of restricting Bain & Co’s South African…

ESKOM’S financial troubles have just gotten worse and its wage bill could increase to unsustainable levels. The struggling power utility has been ordered to pay thousands of its workers more than a year’s worth of backdated salary increases. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) yesterday awarded Eskom workers an extra 1.5% wage increment on top of the 1.5% that the utility unilaterally implemented in July 2021. Last year, Eskom “exercised its right and made a decision” to implement its final 1.5% basic wage increase and changes to the conditions of service offer, ignoring the unions’ wage demand increases well above the annual inflation of between 9.5% and 15%. However, the three unions referred the 2020/2021 wage dispute to the CCMA for arbitration and the arbitrator ruled in their…

ESKOM has cost the economy at least R33 billion after taking Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear power station offline for eight months instead of the estimated five months. This is the view of the Koeberg Alert Alliance (KAA) which yesterday warned that the Koeberg steam generator replacement project could cost more if Eskom forges ahead with it as planned. KAA yesterday held a virtual briefing with a small group of journalists where it questioned the wisdom of Eskom’s multibillion rand project at Koeberg after this year’s failed attempt to replace three steam generators. Earlier this year, Eskom took offline the 900MW Unit 2 at Koeberg with an estimated five months outage but encountered delays which resulted in the unit being offline for eight months instead, also failing to…

THE SOUTH African taxpayer is still going to fork out at least R35 billion more for Eskom to complete work on Medupi and Kusile power stations as the country struggles with an intense energy crisis. This was revealed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament yesterday during a question-and-answer session. Ramaphosa was replying to a question by ANC MP Jabulile Mkhwanazi who wanted to know the level of investment that was still required to complete the delayed design work at the two power stations. “According to the information received from Eskom, the remaining cost to complete Medupi is close to R19bn. All six Medupi units have reached the stage of commercial operation, and the current focus is on completing the balance of plant and remedial works,” Ramaphosa said. “The remaining…

SAPPI, which has seen costs rise sharply at its operations in Europe with the energy crisis, is selling three European graphic paper mills for €272 million (R4.7 billion), 31% lower than the net asset value of the loss-making plants. Global demand for graphic papers has generally been in secular decline and Sappi’s strategy is to reduce exposure to graphic markets and align its business over time with falling market demand. Sappi’s share price spiked 2.33% yesterday on the JSE to close at R46.21. Yesterday, the group said it would sell its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, the Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland to Aurelius Investment Lux One. Aurelius is a pan-European multi- asset manager group, with investments in business operating in various segments…

OMNIA, the diversified chemicals group, sees the agriculture sector as ripe with opportunities to address global food security and supply challenges, and it is expanding to become a leader in the AgriBio space, and to be in a position to better achieve its sustainable development goals. The AgriBio segment was an enabler of more sustainable farming, boosting outputs and elevating industry competitiveness, chief executive Seelan Gobalsamy said yesterday. “The focus on addressing climate change through regenerative and sustainable agriculture means AgriBio products are growing in demand globally – with double-digit growth potential. “It is an exciting time for us to harness our 30 years’ experience in the segment, complemented by our long-standing holistic Nutriology model, to expand our products and solutions aimed at meeting this major societal need,” he said…